Home Office

Terrorism

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) pieces of unlawful terrorist material have been taken off the internet, (b) hate preachers have been excluded from the UK, (c) organisations have been proscribed in the UK, (d) British citizenships have been revoked and (e) passports removed for terrorism-related reasons since May 2015; and how many arrests the police have made for terrorism-related offences since May 2015.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Following referrals from the Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU), social media providers have removed 280,000 pieces of illegal terrorist material since February 2010. Between 11 May 2010 and 31 December 2015, the Government excluded 181 people from the United Kingdom, including 69 exclusions on national security grounds.There were 26 exclusions made between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015. 71 international terrorist organisations and a further 14 in Northern Ireland, have been proscribed. The Government Transparency Report, published on 23 February 2017, showed that the Royal Prerogative had been used to cancel or refuse applications for passports 23 times in 2015. Figures are not yet available for 2016. From March 2015 to March 2017 there have been 562 arrests for terrorism related offences.

Borders: Personal Records

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of how many non-EU international students left the UK on the basis of exit check data collected between April 2015 and April 2016.

Brandon Lewis: Analysis on Exit Checks data was published on 24 August 2017 in the Home Office’s ‘Second report on statistics being collected under the exit checks programme’ (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/second-report-on-statistics-being-collected-under-the-exit-checks-programme). This is the second report in a programme of work to develop experimental statistics and the first time that it has been possible to present results from the analysis of exit data. However, our understanding of this new data source is still developing and as the report sets out there are a variety of reasons why the data does not yet provide a complete estimate of the number of departures. Additional information on international student departures relating to 2015/16 is also contained in ONS’s ‘International student migration research update: August 2017’ report https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/articles/internationalstudentmigrationresearchupdate/august2017

Ministry of Justice

Offences against Children

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will seek to quash convictions for child prostitution of any victim of child abuse.

Dr Phillip Lee: There is not an offence of child prostitution. Section 1 of the Street Offences Act was amended by section 68(7) of the Serious Crime Act 2015 so that the offence of loitering or soliciting applies only to persons aged 18 or over. In so doing, it recognises children as victims in such circumstances.Before the statutory amendment was introduced the legislation applied equally to adults and children, although policing guidance and legal guidance to prosecutors advised that it was not in the public interest to prosecute anyone under the age of 18. The legislation in 2015 confirmed the position in law.The Secretary of State does not have the power to quash a conviction and there are currently no plans to extend the statutory pardon scheme for historical criminal convictions, including those for child prostitution.

Attorney General

Offences against Children: Sentencing

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Attorney General, if he will ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service always considers that racial motivation may be an aggravating factor for seeking higher sentences for conviction for child abuse.

Robert Buckland: The Sentencing Council has issued a definitive guideline on the sentencing of sexual offences. Racial aggravation increases an offender’s culpability under the guideline and therefore the starting point and sentence range for the court to consider.Prosecutors should assist the Court as necessary during the sentencing process, including drawing the Court’s attention to any relevant sentencing guidelines and the aggravating and mitigating features of the case.Ultimately, sentencing is a matter for the court. Racial aggravation makes an offence more serious and the court has a duty to take this into account when it sentences a defendant.

Northern Ireland Office

Flood Control: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what additional steps the Government plans to take in Northern Ireland to mitigate the risk of flooding as a result of recent flooding in the north-west of Northern Ireland.

James Brokenshire: Holding answer received on 11 September 2017



The recent flooding in the north west of Northern Ireland has been devastating for many people and it is important that householders, farmers and businesses are assisted to get back on their feet as soon as possible.Decisions surrounding flood support and mitigation are a devolved matter for the NI Executive. The UK Government stands ready to respond to any requests for support from The Executive Office. My colleague Lord Bourne visited the north-west of Northern Ireland on the 18 September to see some of the repair work being carried out and to talk to a number of those worst affected by the flooding.